John Baird

[Lobbying, April 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, this government has been very forthcoming. When the Minister of the Environment learned of this issue, he did the right thing. He forwarded that information on to the independent authorities so that they could make a determination with respect to the facts and with respect to whether the law was being followed.

This government has done the right thing. If the member opposite has any evidence or allegations of anything that is inappropriate, he should do the right thing and forward them to the independent authorities.

[Lobbying, April 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, when any allegations were brought to the government's attention, this government did the right thing. It immediately forwarded them to the independent authorities, the independent folks who will investigate these matters and report back.

It is this government that established an independent commissioner of lobbying. All that information was forwarded to the commissioner. They should allow the commissioner to do the work. If the member opposite has any allegations to make or any evidence, I suggest he should take them to the appropriate person. In this case, that is the independent commissioner of lobbying.

[Lobbying, April 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, we expect all lobbyists to follow the law. We expect them all to follow the rules. We have put in place an independent Lobbying Commissioner to make determinations on how these rules are followed.

If the member opposite has any evidence of anything that has been done that is untoward, she should immediately forward it to the Lobbying Commissioner and have the courage of her convictions to do that.

[Lobbying, April 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. The green infrastructure program is administered by my department. I am responsible for it at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day. I asked my parliamentary secretary to assist me in my responsibilities.

There are strict eligibility criteria with respect to this fund and all assessments on this project are done by an independent public service.

If the member opposite has any allegations of impropriety that she would like to make, she should follow the example of the government and make them to the relevant authorities.

[Ethics, April 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I want to say this for the member opposite. When serious allegations were brought forward to the Prime Minister's attention he acted immediately and acted ethically. He forwarded all of that information over to the independent Ethics Commissioner and to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police so they could make a determination as to the facts. That was the ethical thing to do and an important thing to do.

If the member opposite has any evidence with respect to any unethical behaviour, she should follow the example of the government and do the right thing and forward it.

[Ethics, April 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear. It was this government that brought in the Federal Accountability Act and increased accountability in Ottawa. We put in place an independent Lobbying Commissioner to make these types of determinations. We now have an independent Ethics Commissioner who can make these types of determinations.

If my colleague in the Bloc has any evidence that any laws were broken, she should forward that evidence to the relevant authorities immediately and follow the example of the Prime Minister.

[Government Assistance, April 26th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to say that we have come to a good agreement with the Quebec government. The federal government gave Quebec $350 million to ensure high-quality drinking water and we are very proud of that. We have already launched a number of projects, and I can say to my Quebec colleagues that more good announcements will be made in this area.

[Ethics, April 26th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. I totally reject the premise of the question asked by the member from Winnipeg.

It is not new for parliamentary secretaries to assist their ministers in the House, in committee and with departmental issues. It is no different in our government from what it was in previous governments.

I am the one, as minister, who is accountable for the fund. I am the one who makes decisions on the advice of the non-partisan professional public service.

On the green infrastructure fund we are doing remarkable things. We are doing clean electricity in northwestern British Columbia. We are having cleaner water in the Great Lakes working with the city of Hamilton. In every region of the country we are making great green investments to help our environment.

[Ethics, April 26th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the green infrastructure fund is administered by my department. At the beginning of the day and at the end of the day, I am the one responsible for it. I asked my parliamentary secretary to assist me with respect to this initiative, as he assists me with many initiatives in the House, in committee and in departmental business.

Let me be very clear. There are strict eligibility criteria for this fund and every single project is assessed by an independent and non-partisan public service. This green infrastructure fund is doing great things to have cleaner air, cleaner water and cleaner electricity generation right across the country.

[Ethics, April 26th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, this government brought in important reforms for lobbyist registration. The culture of lobbying in the previous government was outrageous. This government, immediately upon taking office, brought in comprehensive reform and most importantly established an independent commissioner of lobbying who reports to Parliament through you, Mr. Speaker, so that Canadians can have confidence.

Every single Canadian is required to follow the Lobbyists Registration Act. If the member opposite has any allegations to make with respect to anyone, she should forward them on to the independent commissioner of lobbying that this government established.